Cornyn, Noriega will square off tonight in TV debate

Cornyn, Noriega ready for TV debateCandidates for U.S. Senate square off tonight

JANET ELLIOTT, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, October 9, 2008

AUSTIN — Making his first statewide race and running behind on fundraising, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega needs to capitalize on tonight's televised debate with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

Noriega, a state representative from Houston, is challenging Republican Cornyn, who is seeking his second term in the Senate.

With only so much money, national Democratic party leaders said Wednesday they are focusing on states where races are tighter and where the money goes further. It costs an estimated $1 million a week to advertise in all major Texas television markets.

Cornyn is a familiar name on statewide ballots since 1990, having won races for the Texas Supreme Court and Texas attorney general. He also had $7 million in the bank as of Oct. 3, according to his campaign.

With the PBS studios damaged by Hurricane Ike, the debate will be broadcast live from Houston. Most public television and radio stations statewide are expected to carry the live event, which starts at 8 p.m.

Noriega, who campaigned last week in the Rio Grande Valley with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is expected to use the forum to aggressively challenge Cornyn on a variety of issues.

Cornyn campaign spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said the senator "is eager to take the opportunity to talk directly to Texans about the most pressing issues facing them, and what his positive vision is for the future of Texas and our country."

Schick, a 60-year-old investor, said Wednesday that she is looking forward to outlining her differences with Republicans and Democrats.

Attracting national financing has always been a key hurdle for Noriega, a 50-year-old electric company executive and Texas Army National Guard lieutenant colonel.

His campaign has not publicly commented on the funds it raised during the period that ended Sept. 30.

Cornyn is playing up his Texas roots and down his Washington connections.

But even with a big fundraising advantage, Cornyn, 56, faces an electorate, particularly in vote-rich Harris County, that appears to be turning against Republicans, said Rice University political scientist Bob Stein.

That may be one reason that Cornyn has been unable to put the race away, a fact his campaign acknowledged in an e-mail to supporters Wednesday.

The Houston debate, and a second one on Oct. 16 sponsored by Dallas public television station KERA, pose little risk for Cornyn, Stein said.